保护/bǎo hù

According to the Dictionary of Modern Chinese (漢典 2016), the term 保护/bǎo hù refers to the action of taking care of something, by protecting it from potential damage, destruction, or harm. This definition goes back to the use and understanding of the word in ancient texts. In the Shiji (司马迁, 公元前202年-公元8年)—specifically in the chapter entitled “周本纪第四,” written during the Western Han dynasty—it is reported that the rulers of the time introduced measures designed to demarcate administrative areas from one another and differentiate between the characteristics of inhabitants, in order to strengthen governance. The aim was to ensure the security of border and peripheral regions, while maintaining public order and preventing any kind of harm or destruction. This mode of management reflects the core principles of the ancient notion of保护, which is based on the implementation of preventive and targeted measures to preserve the stability of the state and society.

In the field of cultural heritage, 保护 retains its fundamental meaning. According to the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Property (中华人民共和国中央政府 2024), 保护 refers to all legal actions aimed at ensuring the safety, integrity, and authenticity of cultural relics, cultural heritage, and related non-renewable resources. This includes preventing all kinds of destruction, loss, or damage, and ensuring the transmission of such heritage, as well as facilitating reasonable uses of it such as scientific research and promoting its historical and cultural value.

In English, the terms heritage conservation is most often translated into Chinese as 文化遗产保护/wén huà yí chǎn bǎo hù. Although the term conservation implies a form of protection, it mainly focuses on preserving or maintaining the current state of the heritage object (CNRTL 2012). Conversely, the scope of the Chinese term 保护 is broader: it encompasses preventive protection and places greater emphasis on damage prevention and heritage security. Semantically, 保护 is thus closer to the idea of preventive conservation, which focuses on measures to preserve cultural heritage from potential threats (ICCROM 2025).